Toddler room newsletter

Term 1, 2018

Settling into the room

Thank you to all families and educators for the effort that

has gone into making such a positive and calm start to the

year. This can often be a tense or stressful time for

children, educators and families as new routines and

relationships are established. By working together and

having open communications, children and families are feeling their needs

are met which has been reflected in the room

Program and curriculum

The goals set by educators for children in the first term of the year include

settling and feeling secure. We aim to spend as much time as possible with

children, educators and families. The challenges of establishing respectful

relationships between children and their primary caregivers has been the

main goal for all educators at the beginning of the year. As the year progress

and we learn more about your child the goals set on Educa will be focussed

on individual learning and interests.

Educators investigate and set up learning areas that are reflected indoors

and outside. These areas include science and investigation, arts, numeracy,

literacy and communication, block play and construction, wellbeing and

routine, dramatic play, spontaneous and child’s voice.

The daily journal demonstrates the areas of focus for each day, indicating the

range of experiences that are planned or implemented as children’s needs

and interests develop.

The practices within the room reflect the centre philosophy and vision for the

room. Educators work to support and communicate with individual children,

recognising their uniqueness and skill level.

With the end of term 1 fast approaching we reflect on

the wonderful learning that has been occurring in the

toddler room. This term the children in the toddler

room have been learning about self-help skills, social

and language skills such as sharing, turn-taking and

problem solving. They have been learning to feel safe

and belonged with the educators and within the

environment and have been learning how to express

themselves through dramatic play. The children have

also been learning about our environment and how to take care of it.

At the start of the term, our educators supported the children to settle into

the toddler room environment in ways such as spending time with the

children and engaging with the children in experiences on offer in the

program, asking the children questions and listening to their responses and

needs. This has assisted the children to learn to feel safe, secure and bonded

with their educators and to also feel belonged to the toddler room.

Educators have noticed our older toddler’s role-

modelling and assisting our younger toddlers to

transition into the room and the routine which,

again, suggests that the children feel safe and

comfortable within the environment.

Our self-help station was set up at the start of the term

and has provided the opportunity for children to seek

out their own learning, with guidance and role-

modelling from educators, children are supported to

collect their own face wipes and tissues and then

dispose of them in the appropriate bin. Outdoors the children are supported

to collect their own cup and water from the drinking station and this assists

the children to foster a sense of belonging and independence.

Outdoor environment

Our outdoor space has also changed a bit this term

with the setting up of our outdoor art area,

children are encouraged and supported to collect

loose parts such as leaves and gumnuts to create

pieces of art with.

The children have enjoyed dramatic play this term,

our baby area outdoors has transformed into a

shop with food boxes and a table and chairs outside for the children to sit and

enjoy food and drink. We have extended on some trips to the zoo that the

children have told us about and created a zoo for the children with trees and

animals. This experience has assisted the children to foster some

appreciation for animals and their natural environment and educators have

been extending on this throughout the term.

Educators supported the children to plant some greenery in our garden and

to water the plants when they had finished. Educators have been interacting

with the children this term about how to care for our garden and a display

book was created for the children to look at and to learn about looking after

our plants.

Our zoo area was modified into a stage with musical instruments and lights

based on the children’s interests in the

musical instruments on display.

Dramatic play has so many possibilities for

learning including social skills and language,

the development of fine and gross motor

skills, cognitive skills such as imagination,

sharing and turn taking.

As part of our goal/vision to provide a safe natural environment in which

children can explore and experiment, part of the Toddler yard will be

redesigned. This will be done by students from the Gordon TAFE. Educators

have consulted with each other and the children to sketch design ideas. We

have aimed to incorporate 5 elements into this space.

1. recycled materials

We have a range of recycled and upcycled resources such as pallets, kitchen

utensils and plastic tubing in the outdoor environment in order to promote

exploration and imagination. We would like to add further resources such as

tyres and sensory boards to watch balls roll or listen to different sounds of

pots and pans.

2. water

Andrew the plumber has installed a small water tank to the side of the

Toddler room shed. This will enable educators to introduce water

conservation to the children. The recycled water will be used in play and to

water the garden. This extends processes we already use such as the

watering cans at the children’s water stations for waste water that is used on

the garden. Using water in the outdoor play space provides a calming

sensory experience for children to explore.

3. rocks and other natural resources

The possibilities for incorporating natural resources into play is astounding.

Watching children develop their own play using these resources is

fascinating to observe as an educator. The range of materials must be

deemed to be safe for toddlers so careful consideration is needed in terms of

deciding the size, use and position of the rocks, stumps, logs and dirt.

4. plants

The toddlers have shown they have the capacity to tend and care for the

plants in both the vegetable patch and the flower pots. We would like to plant

more native plants and a tree to keep us under cool shade in the Summer and

watch the leaves rain down in Autumn. The addition of indoor plants has

offered further opportunity for learning and caring for our environment.

5. Challenging spaces

The outdoor space is encouraged as being the space for running, jumping

and climbing. It is with this in mind that we look at how we as educators plan

and arrange resources and monitor the way children play in the area. We

balance the risk of climbing onto and over with the benefits of developing the

physical strength and coordination needed.

School Holiday Program

The toddler room have recently completed our school holiday program. The

two main focusses for the fortnight were physical wellbeing and health and

wellbeing. Educators planned and implemented specific intentional teaching

including obstacle course, ball games, yoga, excursion to the fruit shack,

cooking, meditation and dancing.

Introducing STEM

As part of our ongoing commitment to continue our own professional learning

the educators in the Toddlers room have been exploring STEM. STEM is an

acronym for science and nature, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Another element that can be added is art. Educators are increasing their

understanding of the wealth of learning that takes place on a daily basis

within the Toddlers program. Each educator will explore an aspect of STEM

and how this relates to and can be incorporated into the activities and

learning goals for all children, an example could be introducing measuring

tools to the block area, which incorporates maths and engineering. The Early

Years Learning Framework and STEM provide for reasoning, predicting,

hypothesising and problem solving. Educators are aiming to provide

opportunities for all children to make discoveries themselves, with peers and

educators. Educators will use resources available that are relevant to our

learning environment.

We are all proud to have supported the children in our room to achieve this

growth and development.

Thank you from the Toddler Team

Sources used for this newsletter

Knaus, M & Roberts, P 2017, ‘Stem in early childhood education’, Early

childhood Australia, vol. 2, no. 6.

https://teachpreschool.org/2012/06/06/stem/

www.theempowerededucatoronline.com